


That Guy

by orphan_account



Category: 999: Nine Hours Nine Persons Nine Doors - Fandom, Zero Escape (Video Games)
Genre: Gen, Other Characters Mentioned/Referenced, Warnings for: Alcohol; Mild Language
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-03
Updated: 2014-09-03
Packaged: 2018-02-15 03:35:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,263
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2214291
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Nonary Games never happened, and thus Junpei never met Aoi. He does, however, at a party hosted by whom other than the Kurashikis themselves.</p><p>Written for 999 Week 2014.</p>
            </blockquote>





	That Guy

 Aoi had never been keen on inviting Junpei to the party.

 Nevertheless, Akane had mailed him an invitation to their post-new year’s wine party, neglecting to inform her brother about her choice until it was mere days beforehand, after she’d gotten a letter back stating how he’d love to come.

 “…What?”

 Aoi had turned to her with a confused look, staring at her suspiciously angelic expression. “Akane, what… did you do?”

 She’d approached the subject after dinner one night, prodding the topic with a “So, about that party we're hosting soon,” and after a short pause where Akane had done nothing but fidget quietly, her older brother turned to her, fully now, and repeating his second question. After biting her lip and fidgeting some more for a few moments as she re-rehearsed her confession, Akane finally spoke.

 “Well… Okay, well, you might be a  _little_ mad at me, but hear me out, first!” She flashed a quick smile at him, before rushing to continue before he could interrupt. “ _Any_ way, I, um, invited Junpei to our party. You remember him? Junpei Tenmyouji, you know, my friend from grade school… The, uh, the guy you told me not to invite? That—“

 Aoi cut her off from her rambling, letting out a long sigh from his nose. “Yeah, I remember  _that_ Junpei. I  _remember_ him because I  _remember_ telling you that I didn’t think that inviting him was a good damn idea.”

Akane frowned, speaking slowly. "Well... I don't know why you don't like him so much. You've never even met him! Who knows, you guys might be best friends."

 Her brother paused, examining a nail as he thought. “Y’know… You could just, I don’t know, tell him that the letter got sent off to the wrong address. Or something.” He shrugged, waiting for her response. He'd ignored her admittedly decent point, trying not to start a pointless back-and-forth argument.

 “Okay, but, um, he already replied, saying yes! Also, that would be mean… And, uh,  _also_  also, the letter was addressed to him. Specifically?” She smiled again, presenting the letter she’d been hiding behind her back. “Jumpy’s already accepted, anyway!” She’d slipped up with the old nickname, but it seemed like she hadn’t even noticed her mistake.

 Aoi gave her an exasperated look, not even bothering to look at the letter. “Well, then tell him the damn party’s been cancelled.”

 “It’s in two days! There’s no time. He wouldn’t get the letter until the day of the party, and that’s no fair!”

 “What about email..? Besides, come on, who uses letters anymore? Only old people, that’s who. I don’t know why you insisted that we send  _letters…_ ”

 “I, um, don’t have his email! Or phone number, for that matter. Heh.. eheh...” Akane paused, taking a moment to realize that he’d thrown an insult at her. “Also, hey! It’s not like you helpedorganize it or anything, so  _I_ don’t think you get a say in how I do things! Hmph!” She pouted and crossed her arms in an act of faux-anger, peering at him playfully out of the corner of her eyes.

 Her brother paused for a long moment, craning an eyebrow at her. “You've always been a horrible liar, honestly. I have to say, though, you  _are_  quite the mastermind... Well, whatever, I guess he can come, but if  _anything_ goes wrong, then I’m not letting you invite whoever you want to our parties anymore.” He cocked a smile, “Deal?”

 Akane swayed on her feet for a few moments, pretending to be thinking seriously. Suddenly, she grinned and shrugged. "Well,  _alright_. But, hey, I'm twenty-one now! You can't tell me  _everything_ to do..."

 Aoi sighed, getting up slowly. "Well, what I can tell you to do is to help me with the dishes, alright? C'mon, let's go."

 The next day had passed entirely without even a mention of Junpei, and by the evening of the party, Akane had strong hopes that her brother had forgotten about Junpei.

 Aoi had not forgotten about Junpei, although he'd restrained from starting any more arguments with his sister.

 The party had started at 7:30, and before long most of the guests, few as they may be, had arrived. The Kurashikis greeted and made small chat with their guests, handing out a variety of wines and cocktails, and for a while the backyard was bustling with chatter and laughter. Once the stream of people arrived had trickled to a still, and had been like that for a while, Aoi had approached his sister when she was alone grabbing another bottle of red from the kitchen, and cleared his throat to announce his presence.

 "So... Y'know, Akane, I don't think Tenmyouji is coming."

 She frowned, playing with her faux pearl necklace. "How many times do I have to tell you not to call him that? It makes you sound stuck up. Besides, maybe he's just running a little late? It's only, uh," She turned to check a clock, her frown only deepening. "...Oh. Quarter past eight. Well... maybe you're right. And I was really looking forward to introducing him to the Fields -- I really think he'd like them, y'know. Maybe something came up...?" She trailed off sadly, looking back up to her brother. When she spotted the shit-eating grin he was now sporting, however, she twisted her lip and smacked his arm with a heavy palm.

 Aoi couldn't help but laugh when she did so, taking a moment to speak. "Hey, ow! Jeez, sorry. Hey, maybe you can just introduce them another time. Like, specifically, when I'm not here. Sound good?"

 Before Akane could do anything other than shoot him a glare, however, she was cut off by a barely-audible noise. Blinking, they both paused as the sound repeated itself, this time distinguishable.

 Someone was knocking on the door.

 Aoi turned to his sister, his face one of horror. He mouthed a “No, way,” at her, but she was already at the door. Choosing the easy way out, Aoi quickly made his way back out to the party before he was pulled into any sort of introductions.

 Akane, on the other hand – and the other end of the house – opened the door with a brilliant smile, catching her long-awaited guest in the middle of awkwardly tucking in his shirt. Junpei pulled his arms down to his side immediately, unfortunately leaving the back of his shirt loose, although he didn’t move fast enough for Akane to miss him. They stood in a long silence after this, Junpei awkwardly tapping his fingers on the neck of the wine bottle he’d brought, before the young woman finally broke the ice.

 “Oh, Junpei! I’m glad you made it, I was beginning to get worried you wouldn’t be coming.” She flashed him a small smile, “Oh, but, come in, come in! The party’s in the back, so allow me.”

 Junpei nodded as he stepped in and returned her smile with one that, admittedly, was not as bedazzling. He shuffled along a few steps behind Akane, the contrast between the two making him painfully aware of his sloppy shirt and the dress pants that were a size too small. Akane was, of course, looking gorgeous in a lavender party dress accented with a plethora of pearl jewelry. Suffice to say, he was not dressed his best, but it was the best he could manage with college making money tight.

 After they'd passed the kitchen and Junpei had quickly laid down the cheap bottle of white that he'd picked up earlier, he piped up. “Um, er, sorry for being so late! Buddy needed my car, and he was late getting back, and then there were no  _buses…_ ”

 Once he’d finished, Akane stopped abruptly and turned toward him, a kind smile on her face. “Oh, no, no, it’s no problem at all! You didn’t miss anything too exciting, by the way. And, oh, I don’t mind, and I’m sure my brother doesn’t, either!”

 These words filled him with dread. He’d practically forgotten about her brother, but he was certain that he  _did_ mind. Nevertheless, he nodded and smiled once more, this time much more forced.

 Eventually, they made it to the yard, entering quietly into the hub of chatter, no one so much even turning to look at them. Looking around, the guests here seemed to be, for the most part, dressed much nicer than he was in the generic white shirt and beige pants combo, but he tried to brush off any worries as he scanned the crowd. Nobody really caught his eye, aside from some with rather odd hair colors – was that bright  _pink_  he saw? – but he didn’t have the time to look into details before Akane had introduced him to an odd man with silvered hair and eyes that didn’t quite seem like they were  _focused_ on anything. He made interesting enough conversation, at least, although he admittedly came off as a bit self-centered.

 After chatting for a while and eventually managing to snag some white wine for himself, Akane appeared at his shoulder and pulled him away.

 “Hey, hey! How’s it going, Junpei? Glad to see you two were getting along – honestly, I really think you two could be friends. He has a sister, too, you should talk to her later… I met her in highschool, and she's a really great girl. I'll introduce you two later!” She paused, pressing a finger to her lower lip in thought briefly. Just as suddenly as she'd stopped, Akane begun speaking excitedly once more. "Oh! I almost forgot why I pulled you away, heh. Since you've gotten a bit more settled in, I figured maybe now might be a good time for you and my brother to meet!"

 Junpei wanted to scream that no, it was not a good time, but he bit his tongue and sipped at his wine cautiously. 

 They made their way to the deck, where only a few people stood. Suddenly, Junpei became rather self-conscious, straightening his slouched posture and giving a last-ditch attempt at flattening out his shirt. Unfortunately, he'd stopped paying attention to where he was walking, and barely stopped in time to avoid bumping into Akane as she tapped some man – presumably, her brother – on the shoulder, murmuring something to him before she walked away quietly.

 Whatever Junpei had expected her brother to look like had definitely not been anywhere close to reality.

 Aoi was, suffice to say, intimidating. He dwarfed Junpei by at least a half foot, and his glare was enough to freeze any man in their tracks. Not to mention his outfit put Junpei's to shame, with clean slicked hair and an almost threatening navy suit. Junpei couldn't see what type of drink he had, but wouldn't doubt it was anything less than the strongest brandy in the state.

 Seconds ticked by as if they were minutes, but still neither man initiated any form of conversation. Eventually, and right as Junpei had finally built up the courage to say _something_ , the man in front of him spoke in a cold tone.

 "Mr. Tenmyouji, correct? Akane has told me a lot about you," He paused, sipping a martini glass, and although there was the opportunity for Junpei to speak he did not make use of it, instead wondering how much of a stick up his ass this man must have if he was using a term as stiff as "Mr". Eventually, Aoi continued.

 "You two were childhood friends, weren't you? Although, I never  _did_  get the chance to meet you, what with your sudden move... What a shame.  _Really_." The sarcasm was not lost on Junpei, and he doubted the obvious emphasis was necessary. "And then... what, a month ago? You two met once more in the library downtown. Hmm." 

 The silence was long, and uncomfortable. Junpei doubted Aoi had any mind of continuing, but had no ideas of his own in how to rekindle the conversation. Eventually, he opened his mouth, but was cut off once again by Aoi moving closer in order to whisper in his ear.

 "Now, I don't like you, and I get the feeling you don't like me, either. I'm gonna cut this short and tell you that if you try anything with my sister, you're gonna be missing by the next damn morning. Keep your distance, and I'm sure we can all get along fine. Alright?" The smile he flashed was cold, and unnerved Junpei even more so than the words had. Aoi left quickly, however, leaving the other man to collect himself alone.

 After stepping down from the deck, Akane approached Junpei quickly, a hopeful expression. She didn't say anything, but her face prompted the question of "So, how did it go?” to which he answered awkwardly, lying straight through his teeth. She smiled gratefully, obviously pleased that they'd, at least to her knowledge, gotten along. She opened her mouth to speak as she reached over to pat his arm, however Junpei’s wine glass was slightly tilted at the time, and she ended up forcing Junpei to spill a rather large amount of white wine on his pants. 

 Immediately, she retracted her arm and raised it to her gaping mouth. "Oh, oh no! Junpei, I'm so sorry! I didn't realize your glass was... I'm sorry!"

 Junpei looked down sheepishly at the stain on his thigh, quietly placing the wine glass to the side as he returned his gaze to her. "Er, oh, no, it's... No problem. I mean, I'm wearing beige pants, and... You can't  _really_ see it, can you?" He stopped, staring at her as he echoed his question. " _Can_ you?"

 Akane bit her lip, staying silent for a long moment, before shrugging in what was admittedly a "Yes-but-I-don't-want-to-be-rude" fashion. "Hey, well, um, here, let's go inside! I'm sure I can clean this up...!"

 A few moments later they were seated inside in a couple of chairs, Akane bending over as she peered intently at the drying stain. "Well... I mean, usually I'd say that you should soak this or something, but a bigger stain will just end up being more noticeable... Besides, it's kinda weird if you're trying to take out a big stain like this from somebody who's still wearing the pants, right?" She drummed her fingers on her collarbone, thinking. "Although... Um, I'm pretty sure I remember Aoi having some light pants that kinda looked like yours... You'd be okay with wearing those for the rest of the party, right? I'll just swing by your apartment sometime tomorrow or something to pick them up!"

 Too caught up in the idea, Akane didn't even bother to wait for Junpei's response, instead quickly getting up and rushing off. She returned soon enough, however with a less excited expression than when she'd left. 

 "My brother, um, he doesn't really have anything  _identical_ , per se... But, he does have something pretty close!" She presented a pair of neatly folded pants that did, in fact, look quite similar. As uncomfortable as he was with the idea, it seemed a much better alternative to walking around for the next hour in pants with a stain, and thus he reluctantly took the pants from her outstretched hands. Akane smiled, before twisting the upper part of her body in a half-turn, pointing down the hallway behind her. "Oh, and the, um, bathroom is down the hall! Last door on the lef– Er, right!"

 After a brief time spent trying to locate the washroom, Junpei hurriedly changed his pants. In the harsher light, it became unfortunately apparent that these pants were distinctly more of a creamy color than beige, but Junpei reassured himself that no one would be able to tell the difference in the dim yard, especially considering the lights had a yellowish tint to them. Quietly, he exited, looking much more proper now that he'd had the opportunity to tuck in his shirt properly.

 He barrelled straight into Akane, who was waiting for him directly outside the door as she checked her hair in a hall mirror. She stumbled back a few steps in shock, and it was a feat on its own that she managed to stay on her feet before she stumbled into the wall. Junpei, who'd fallen heavily on his rear, was now sitting sprawled on the floor. He groaned a complaint along the lines of "Ow, my poor ass" as he rose slowly, however it took him a few moments to notice Akane. She was still leaning against the wall, feeling the spot on her head which she figured she most have knocked into the wall. Junpei quickly dashed over to her, an uncharacteristically fearful look on his face as he gently held her arm and helped her stabilize. She nodded to him gratefully, smiling.

 "Oh, no, no need to worry! I'm fine, all I did was bump my head a little." She let out a small, nervous laugh. "Are  _you_  alright, Junpei? It looked like you took quite a fall..." He nodded to her earnestly, trying to avoid thinking of how close the two of them were at that moment. Remembering the rough voice of Aoi and his threats, Junpei quickly stepped back and spoke in an awkward, stuttering tone.

 "Oh, er, um, yeah, I'm completely fine! Uh... Here, I'm just gonna go run and put these in my car, gimme one second!" He quickly gestured to the pants on his arm, before turning sharply and dashing out to the entrance.

 He didn't take very long, simply chucking them through a partially opened window before he sprinted back to where she was waiting. They made their way back out to the party where, much to Junpei's dismay, Aoi stood nearby with a glare. He approached Akane, and the two of them split up as Junpei left her to questions of why they'd been inside together, and what had taken them so long. Although, Akane was a smart girl, and Junpei figured she'd already had an excuse primed and ready to go while she'd been waiting for him.

 However, now he was walking around in a pair of expensive and slightly off-white pants that were both not his and now at least a size too  _large_ for him, and Junpei couldn’t decide whether or not this was the worst thing that could have happened here.

 Thankfully, the rest of the party passed quickly, Junpei being introduced to the peppy young girl that Akane had met in highschool – in fact, she also turned out to be the owner of the pink hair he'd spotted earlier – and there being a small speech being made by the Kurashiki siblings with wishes to all the guests for them to have a wonderful new year. It seemed like Aoi had been glaring at him the entire time after they'd exited the house, and even during the speech, but no attempts were made at an approach, which was good enough for Junpei.

 Eventually, the guests began to leave, be they alone or in groups – in the case of Junpei, he left still talking with the two sibling's he'd become rather acquainted to before parting at their cars – although it took a good hour for the last couple to leave, thanking the two for the party as they walked out.

 Aoi sat back in a dining chair, thinking to himself as Akane brought in bottles and glasses from the deck. Suddenly, and although Akane was barely in the house at the time, he blurted out a question loudly.

 "Did Junpei's pants look familiar to you?"


End file.
